Cosimo I de' Medici commissioned the Uffizi to bring Florence's committees, agencies and guilds under one roof, and the name means offices. Giorgio Vasari began the work in 1560, and Alfonso Parigi and Bernardo Buontalenti continued it until its completion in 1581.
A long, narrow courtyard opens at its far end onto the Arno through a Doric screen. Architectural historians regard it as Europe's first regularized streetscape. Vasari emphasized its perspective with continuous roof cornices, unbroken cornices between the storeys and three continuous steps. The top floor became a gallery for the Medici and their guests.
The gallery opened to the public in 1769 and became a museum in 1865. A car bomb on May 27, 1993, killed five people and damaged many artworks. The Nuovi Uffizi project, begun in 1989, expanded display space from about 64,000 to nearly 139,000 square feet. The museum had 5,249,968 visitors in 2024.
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